Baseball Team Advances to Sixth SEC Tournament Title Game
5/30/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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The two best teams in the Southeastern Conference will meet in the championship game of the 2002 SEC Tournament as the No. 2 seed and Western Division champion Alabama Crimson Tide (47-13, 20-10 SEC) faces the No. 1 seed and regular season champion South Carolina Gamecocks (48-13, 21-8 SEC) for the league’s automatic bid to next week’s NCAA Division I Baseball Championship.
The last time the top two seeds played in the tournament championship game was 1997 when No. 2 seed Alabama beat No. 1 seed LSU 12-2 at Golden Park in Columbus, Ga. South Carolina is the first No. 1 seed to play for the SEC Tournament Championship since Arkansas advanced to the title game in 1999. The Razorbacks won two games from Auburn on Saturday to advance to face Alabama in the title game. The Crimson Tide posted a 9-3 win over the Hogs.
South Carolina also had to win two games on Saturday to make the championship game, beating LSU 10-8 and 5-4. The last No. 1 seed to win the tournament was Alabama in 1996 (beat Florida, 15-5). The Crimson Tide will look to become the seventh straight Western Division team to win the SEC Tournament. The last time an Eastern Division team won the post-season tournament was 1991 when Florida beat LSU in Baton Rouge. Bama and USC have never met in the SEC Tournament, but the two teams have squared off in the post-season, splitting a pair of games at the 1986 NCAA Atlantic Regional in Coral Gables, Fla. Alabama is playing in its sixth SEC Tournament Championship game today against the Gamecocks. The Crimson Tide has never lost a championship game, winning the post-season title in 1983, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1999. The 1996 and 1999 championships were here at the Hoover Met. This isn USC’s first championship game appearance. The Gamecocks won the regular-season series from the Crimson Tide, taking two out of three in Columbia (Mar. 29-31). UA’s lone win was a 10-6 thriller in 13 innings in the opener. Jeremy Brown’s grand slam highlighted the five-run inning.
SEC TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Alabama is 38-34 (.528) all-time in SEC post-season play, dating back to its first appearance in the 1950 SEC Playoffs, a best-of-five series against Eastern Division champ Kentucky. The Crimson Tide is 28-22 (.560) since the league adopted a tournament format in 1977. Coach Jim Wells has posted an impressive 24-8 (.750) record at the SEC Tournament, including four post-season titles. Alabama won championships in 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1999 under Wells. At the Hoover Met, the site of the 2002 SEC Tournament, Wells has led the Crimson Tide to a 16-6 (.727) ledger.
SEC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES: Alabama is 5-0 (1.000) in SEC Tournament Championship game appearances, winning the title in 1983, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1999.
Year Result of Game Site
1983 -- Alabama 10, Miss. State 9 Starkville, Miss.
1995 -- Alabama 9, LSU 8 Starkville, Miss.
1996 -- Alabama 15, Florida 5 Hoover, Ala.
1997 -- Alabama 12, LSU 2 Columbus, Ga.
1999 -- Alabama 9, Arkansas 3 Hoover, Ala.
WELLS SHOOTS FOR FIFTH SEC TOURNEY CROWN: Alabama head coach Jim Wells has directed the Crimson Tide to four SEC Tournament titles, leading UA to crowns in 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1999. Wells is one of only three SEC coaches to lead their respective teams to four post-season titles. Former LSU coach Skip Bertman has the most titles with six, while MSU skipper Ron Polk also has four titles.
Coach (Titles) School Championships
Skip Bertman (6) LSU 1986, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994 and 2000
Jim Wells (4) UA 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1999
Ron Polk (4) MSU 1979, 1985, 1987 and 1990
Joe Arnold (3) UF 1984, 1988 and 1991
Rod Delmonico (3) UT 1993, 1994 and 1995
Hal Baird (2) AU 1989 and 1998
Jake Gibbs (1) UM 1977
Paul Nix (1) AU 1978
Larry Schmittou (1) VU 1980
Jay Bergman (1) UF 1981
Jack Rhine (1) UF 1982
Barry Shollenberger UA 1983
Pat McMahon (1) MSU 2001
*From 1993-95, the league played two separate tournaments with the Eastern and Western Division. Both teams are listed as tourney champions that year.
MORE THAN A TITLE AT STAKE: Today’s game may mean more to the Crimson Tide than just an SEC Tournament championship. Many believe that Alabama is also playing for a national Top 8 seed at the 2002 NCAA Division I Baseball Championships and a host site for the Super Regionals. The Crimson Tide, South Carolina, Florida and LSU appear to be locks to host one of the 16 four-team NCAA Regionals, which begin this Friday (May 31). South Carolina, by virtue of its regular season championship, seems to be a lock as a Top 8 seed and Super Regional host site. With a win here today, Alabama could join Florida State, Clemson, Rice, South Carolina, Texas, Nebraska, and Houston as possible Super Regional hosts.
BAMA AT THE HOOVER MET: Alabama has compiled a 19-9 (.679 all-time record in games played at the Hoover Met. In SEC Tournament games, Alabama is 16-6 (.727) here at the Met. The Crimson Tide is 3-3 (.500) in six regular season games at the Met. The Crimson Tide played its first game at the Met during the 1989 season, handing UAB a lopsided 14-2 loss. Alabama’s 1999 SEC Tournament Championship game win over Arkansas drew the largest single-game crowd ever to witness a college baseball game in the state of Alabama. A record crowd of 16,165 fans watched Alabama beat Arkansas 9-3 en route to its third title in four years. All four of Alabama’s SEC Tourney games have set session attendance records. The session records are 10,111 (Session 1), 10,263 (Session 4), 10,907 (Session 6) and 8,610 (Session 8).
2002 SEC TOURNAMENT RECAP: Alabama is 3-1 (.750) in this year’s SEC Tournament and has reached the championship game for the fifth time since 1995. In addition, Alabama has made the SEC Tournament’s Final Four every year it has played in the tourney under Coach Wells (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2002). The Crimson Tide did not make the post season last year. Alabama has opened the tourney with a 2-0 record four times in seven years, including this year’s 2-0 start. The Crimson Tide dropped its third game in 1996 and 1997, but rebounded to win the tournament. UA dropped its third game this season and is one win from the title. Alabama eliminated Florida with Saturday’s 11-8, marking the fourth time under Wells (1996, 1997, 1998 and 2002) that UA has been responsible for UF’s exit from the tourney. As a team, Alabama is batting a tournament best .327 (49-for-150) with six home runs and 33 RBI. Through 14 games, the Crimson Tide leads the tourney field in hitting (.327), doubles (16) and home runs (6). Bama’s leading hitter is first baseman Brent Boyd, who is batting .500 (8-for-16) with seven runs scored, two doubles, one home run and two RBI. Boyd is second among tourney leaders with seven runs scored. Adam Pavkovich (.462, 6-for-13, 5 R, 4 2B, 2 RBI) and Peter Stonard (.429, 9-for-21, 4 R, HR, 5 RBI) are also hitting better than .400 for the tournament. Pavkovich lead all tourney participants with four doubles, while Stonard is third in hits (9) and second in total bases (15). Scott McClanahan (.158, 3-for-19) has struggled at the plate in the tournament, but leads the field with two home runs (5 RBI). The pitching staff is 3-1 with two saves in four games, with a 5.14 ERA (35 IP, 42 H, 22 R, 20 ER, 16 BB, 17 K). Alabama is second only to South Carolina in tourney wins (3) and saves (2). The Gamecocks have four wins and three saves. Defensively, Alabama has committed five errors in five games, but has also turned a tournament-leading five double plays. Bama had three double plays in the final four innings of its 11-9 win over Florida to advance to the championship game.
ALABAMA-USC SERIES: Alabama owns a 14-13 (.519) series lead over South Carolina, after dropping two of three during the 2002 regular season in Columbia. Alabama won the series opener in dramatic fashion, scoring five runs in the 13th inning to claim the come-from-behind win. Scott McClanahan’s RBI double gave the Crimson Tide a 6-5 lead and Jeremy Brown’s grand slam iced the win. South Carolina bounced back to win the next two games and take the series. The Crimson Tide’s 10-6 win (13-inning) in the opener, extended its winning streak to four games over South Carolina. The four-game streak equaled the longest winning streak by the Crimson Tide. The Tide also four straight from the Gamecocks from 1986-94. The home team has never lost a series since the Gamecocks joined the league in 1992. Alabama and South Carolina have never met in SEC Tournament play, but have squared off in the post-season. The two teams split a pair of meetings at the 1986 NCAA Atlantic Regional in Coral Gables, Fla.
ALABAMA-USC THIS SEASON: The Gamecocks took two of three from Alabama this season on Columbia (Mar. 29-31), winning the final two games after dropping a 13-inning thriller in the series opener. The Crimson Tide out hit the Gamecocks in the three-game series (.317 to .313), but struggled with men in scoring position and hit into eight double plays in the series. Both teams scored exactly 19 runs in the series and UA out homered USC, 6-3. Travis Garner was the leading against USC, compiling a .533 (8-for-15) average with six runs, two home runs and two RBI. He homered in back-to-back games for the first time in his UA career. In UA’s 9-6 loss in game two, Garner matched the Alabama single-game record with five hits. Peter Stonard was the second-leading hitter, batting .357 (5-for-14) with two runs and two RBI. Beau Hearod also smacked two home runs, including one in consecutive games on Mar. 30-31. On the mound, both teams struggled in the three-game set. UA compiled a 5.28 ERA (29 IP, 36 H, 19 R, 17 ER, 9 BB, 16 K), while USC’s was not much batter at 4.65 ERA (31 IP, 39 H, 19 R, 16 ER, 11 BB, 2 3K). Lefty Jeffrey Norris threw one perfect inning of relief on Mar. 30, striking out three USC batters.
ALABAMA NOTEBOOK: Alabama is 13-8 (.619) against ranked teams this season...As of Saturday, May 25, the Crimson Tide has posted a 24-12 (.667) record this season against the Top 64 RPI teams...Alabama is 12-2 (.857) in SEC Tournament elimination games under Coach Wells...Coach Wells will coach his 799th all-time game today...Alabama has won 37 consecutive games when scoring 10 or more runs after Saturday’s 11-9 win over the Florida Gators...UA’s last loss when scoring 10 or more runs was an 18-12 slugfest to LSU in the 2000 SEC Tournament here at the Met...Since 1995, Alabama is 148-7 (.955) when scoring double figures...The Crimson Tide hit a season high four HRs in its win over Florida yesterday...Bama also hit four HRs in a 12-10 win over Austin Peay on April 3...The top four hitters in UA’s lineup were a combined 8-for-19 (.421) with four home runs and 10 RBI in the win over Florida...In the five previous games, the quartet was 14-for-81 (.173) with two HRs and 10 RBI...Freshman left-hander Taylor Tankersley tied the UA freshman single-season record with his 8th win against Miss. State...He joins B.J. Green (1998) and Scott Murphy (1999) as the only UA rookies to win eight games...Tankersley’s start against MSU was his third career start and his first career SEC start...Bama has a school record 40 sac flies this season...The Crimson Tide had only 18 sac flies last year in 55 games...Bama also has 38 sacrifice bunts this season...The school record is 41 bunts in 1969...South Carolina and Alabama have combined to hit 293 doubles this season...USC (148) and UA (145) are first and second in the league respectively in doubles...Alabama notched its 20th save of the season against Florida (May 25), setting the single-season standard...The old record was 19 saves set in 1996, 1997 and 1999...Six different UA players have at least one save this year...Bama had only seven saves last year...Alabama has hit four grand slams this season, including one vs. South Carolina and one at the SEC Tournament...Through 60 games, UA is 33-8 vs. RHP and 14-5 vs. LHP...Alabama is 24-11 in day games this season...Alabama is 5-1 at neutral sites...In games played in the state of Alabama, the Crimson Tide is 37-4...Alabama won five of six this season with Florida and 12 of its last 13 since 1997...The Crimson Tide has a 6-6 (.500) against USC, Florida and LSU this year...Alabama’s eight extra base hits against Florida matched the season high set against Austin Peay (April 3)...Bama has at least one extra base hit in 56 of 60 games this year...UA is 0-4 without an extra base hit...Alabama is playing its eighth game in eight days, while USC is playing its ninth game in nine days...Alabama is 110-60 (.641) in one-run games under Jim Wells...The Tide is 7-4 this year in one-run tilts...In games decided by two runs or less, Bama is 17-4 (.810)...Alabama is 25-1 when holding the opposition to three runs or less...Bama is 35-1 (.972) this year when scoring seven or more runs...Alabama is 53-14 (.791) in its last 67 games dating back to May 1, 2001...
HITTER THUMBNAILS: A brief update on UA’s probable starting lineup.
11 TRAVIS GARNER (RF): Moved to leadoff spot in series finale at LSU...Had not batted lead off since March 13 vs. B ham Southern...Second on the team with 21 multiple hit games this season...Batting .250 (5-for-20) at the SEC Tourney with three runs, one HR and six RBI...Recorded first career grand slam against Florida in UA’s 11-9 win on Saturday...The grand slam was his first HR since May 5 at Georgia...UA is 5-1 when Garner hit a home run this season...Collected three hits in the win over Florida after going hitless in his previous 11 tourney at-bats...Garner is 10-for-10 in stolen base chances this month...UA’s leading hitter vs. South Carolina, where he batted .533 (8-for-15) with two HRs and two RBI...Homered in back-to-back games with USC (Mar. 29-30)...Tied UA single-game record with five hits on Mar. 30.
1 PETER STONARD (2B): Riding six-game hitting streak, where he is batting .448 (13-for-29) with four runs, four doubles, one home run and four RBI...Also has five multiple hit games in those six games...Leads UA team with 30 multiple hit games...Batting .429 (9-for-21) at SEC Tourney, with four runs, three doubles, one home run and five RBI...Hit solo home run against Florida to tie game at 7-7 in 4th inning as UA erased a 7-2 deficit...It was his first home run since April 12 at Kentucky...UA is 5-0 this year when Stonard hits a home run...In the month of May, Stonard is hitting a team-best .450 (27-for-60) with 11 runs scored, one home run and nine RBI...Posted back-to-back three hit games for UA...Hit safely in 18 of last 19 games, where he is batting .457 (37-for-81) with 17 runs scored and 13 RBI...Batted .357 (5-for-13) at South Carolina, with two runs and two RBI.
14 JEREMY BROWN (C): Semifinalist for the 2002 Johnny Bench Award...Holds UA career records for games played (245), games started (245), runs scored (240), walks (200) and putouts (1,621)...Only player in SEC history with 300 career hits and 200 career walks...Brown is currently second in league history with 200 career walks, behind Brad Wilkerson's (1996-98) league record total of 224 walks...Tied an Alabama single-game record with four walks in 7-4 win over Florida on Thursday...Brown has 62 walks this season, four shy of Bret Elbin’s (1983) single season record of 66 base on balls...Reached base safely in 32 straight games and 108 of 111 overall...Batting .214 (3-for-14) in four tourney games, with five runs, one home run and two RBI...Brown played his 245th career game against Florida, breaking Andy Phillips’ previous school record of 244 games played...Needs four RBI to break Phillips’ school-record of 226 career RBI...Smacked two-run first inning HR vs. Florida on Saturday, his first home run since April 6 (also vs. Florida), a span of 91 career at-bats...Against South Carolina, Brown batted .333 (4-for-12) with one home run and six RBI...Posted five RBI and second career grand slam in series opener (Mar. 29) as UA won 10-6 in 13 innings...Brown had seven hits and 11 RBI in 11 at-bats from Mar. 26-30, which also included the first two games at Carolina.
24 SCOTT McCLANAHAN (CF): Moved to the clean up spot on May 19 for the first time in his career...Leads UA with 14 HRs and 60 RBI, both career highs...Second on team with 21 multiple hit games...Leads the team with 18 multiple RBI games...Batting only .158 (3-for-19) at SEC Tourney, with five runs scored, two home runs and five RBI...All three post-season hits have gone for extra bases...Mac’s two HRs rank first among tourney hitters...Hit three-run HR in opener vs. Miss. State...Hit seven HRs and tallied 15 RBI in his last 15 games...Mac has hit safley in 10 of his last 11 games, batting .260 (12-for-46) with six HRs and 12 RBI...In three starts at USC, Mac batted .312 (5-for-16) with three runs and three RBI...Started 119 consecutive games in CF...Only UA player to start all 60 games at same position this year...Holds UA career record with 22 OF assists...Also leads SEC this year with eight...Reached base in 19 straight games.
6 BRENT BOYD (1B): Moved from second base to first base on April 20th...UA career record holder with 944 career at-bats...UA’s leading hitter at the SEC Tournament, batting .500 (8-for-16) with seven runs, one HR and two RBI...Riding four-game hitting streak, where he is batting .500 for the four-day tourney...Recorded 61 career doubles, leaving him three shy of David Magadan’s school record of 64 doubles set from 1981-83...One of four UA players with 300 career hits (305 hits)...Batted .312 (5-for-16) this season against South Carolina.
36 CHAD WHITE (LF): Swinging the bat well of late for UA earning four starts in the last five games...White is batting .333 (5-for-15) at SEC Tourney, with two runs, three doubles and four RBI...Posted two-run doubles vs. Miss State (April 23) and Florida (May 23)...Hitless in six at-bats over three appearances this year against South Carolina.
5 BEAU HEAROD (DH): Riding four-game hitting streak, where he is batting .364 (4-for-11) with two RBI...Second on UA team with 15 multiple RBI games...Batting .375 (3-for-8) at the SEC Tourney, with one run and two RBI...Recorded at least one hit in six of seven games, batting .286 (6-for-21)...Team leader with seven sac flies this year...In three starts at USC, Hearod batted .231 (3-for13) with two runs, two home runs and two RBI...Homered in games one and three of the series
12 ZAC WELCH (DH): Played in all three games at SEC Tournament, including his first start on Saturday vs. Florida since April 17 (vs. Samford)...Batting .333 (3-for-9) in the tourney with two RBI...Collected pinch-hit singles against Miss. State (May 22) and Florida (May 23)...Played one game at South Carolina, but did not have an at-bat
4 ADAM PAVKOVICH (SS): Played his 100th career game at Alabama on Saturday vs. Florida...Tied UA single-season record with 12 sac bunts against Florida, tying Nate Duncan (12) for the all-time lead...In four SEC Tourney games, Pavkovich is batting .462 (6-for-13) with four runs scored and four RBI...Leads SEC Tournament with four doubles...At South Carolina, Pavkovich batted .200 (2-for-10) with two runs scored.
26 ALLEN RICE (3B): Batting .250 (3-for-12) with two doubles and three RBI...Tallied only one hit in six Saturday ABs...Since April 21, Rice is hitting just .130 (7-for-54) for the Crimson Tide...First career SEC start came at USC (Mar. 30)...He appeared in two games at South Carolina, compiling a .400 (2-for-5) average with two sac bunts...Posted career high two doubles in UA’s 4-3 loss in series finale (Mar. 31)
